Nightmare
by silentpixiee
Summary: This takes place after episode 1x5 The Hub. Skye was having a hard time getting over the fact that Ward almost didn't make it back from the mission.


**A/N: **Lovely readers, I bring you another story. While I am still working on another chapter for "Home", this little idea popped in my head and refused to leave me alone until it was written. It's a fluffy oneshot that I hope ya'll enjoy!

**Warning:** This takes place after _The Hub _episode so there will be some spoilers if ya'll haven't seen it yet. Also, I suppose I should apologize if Ward and Skye seem a wee bit out of character but I really feel like this is the way they'd both react if this had happened in the wonderful Marvel Universe. **All mistakes are mine- no beta again! **

**Disclaimer**: I own absolutely nothing… sadly. If I owned Ward or AoS, Ward and Skye would've hooked up from the beginning and there would be MANY shirtless Ward scenes as well. Gotta give the fans what they want, I say!

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Skye lay in bed; sheets tangled up around her haphazardly, ragged breath, and tears streaming down her face. Two days ago, she'd almost lost Grant.

She sat up and scooted back enough to lean against the wall and brought her knees up to her chest, resting her tired head on them. This is how she'd spent the past two nights. Every time she closed her eyes, she'd see Grant's body lying on the ground, bloody and full of bullet holes, and then she'd wake up in a panic.

She was being an idiot and she was well aware of it, but she couldn't help the icy fear that gripped her soul every time she closed her eyes and thought about how _bad _it could've all been if she hadn't hacked the Hub's mainframe.

Skye fisted her hands in her hair and shook it roughly, trying to erase the bloodied images from her head, because she just couldn't deal with this right now. Just the _thought_ of Grant not being near her shattered her heart and left her feeling empty and sick.

"Get out, get out… _please_ get out." She cried brokenly to herself. She just wanted them to go away. She wanted the dreams-_nightmares_- to go away. Two days without sleep were starting to take a toll on her body and the rest of the team was starting to notice, and she just- she couldn't do this anymore.

"Please…" she sobbed, trying to be as quiet as possible. The last thing she wanted was for someone to come in here and ask her what was wrong. They wouldn't understand. They'd think she was crazy for acting like this; for letting something so stupid break her down like this. She's supposed to be working towards becoming a freaking S.H.I.E.L.D agent. Agents didn't cry- didn't _feel_. How was she supposed to face so much evil if she couldn't even face a stupid nightmare?

"Get your shit together Skye." She growled tiredly, bringing her fist against her head roughly. "Grant's alive. Grant's alive. He's alive. He's alive." she muttered to herself over and over.

_He's alive._ She thought once more before sleep claimed her again.

* * *

"_May, hurry!" Skye yelled frantically as she stared out the window. Fitz and Grant were surrounded and if they didn't land this stupid plane __**right now**__ they were going to die._

"_It'll be alright Skye, we're here." Coulson said quietly, resting his hand on her shoulder in comfort, before walking away. _

_Skye swallowed the lump in her throat and remained quiet; her eyes never leaving Grant. God, she just wanted him to look at her. __**Please…**_

_The plane jerked a little as May turned the plane engines around to blow the threat away, and when Skye righted herself again against the window, she saw Grant push Fitz towards the bus, where she was sure Coulson was dropping the rope, and then go down. _

"_No!"_

_Skye ran towards the cargo hold where Coulson was standing, ready to lever the guys up. _

"_Grant, Grant is hurt!" she yelled, running past him._

"_Skye, wait!"_

"_Coulson, he's hurt. We have to help him!" Skye yelled over the wind._

"_Sky-"_

"_No! No, we're not leaving him here!" she yelled frantically._

_Coulson tapped his ear piece and instructed May to set the bus down._

_Within seconds of the wheels touching down, Skye jumped off and ran towards the last place she'd seen Grant._

_When she saw his body lying on the ground, she made a beeline for him, not caring about the danger around them. All she cared about was him. _

"_Skye—"_

_Fitz tried to grab her arm but Skye pulled away and dropped next to Grant._

"_Oh God." So much blood. There was so much blood. _

"_Grant, hey, come on, look at me." She cried, tapping his cheek softly. _

"_Skye."_

"_No." she took her fingers and tried to find a pulse, but when she couldn't find one, she quickly started CPR. He was __**not **__dying. Not today. _

"_Skye…"_

"_No, no. Help me. Help me!" she yelled, going from chest compressions to breaths._

"_I'm so sorry Skye." _

"_NO!" she yelled angrily. "Why aren't you helping me?" _

_Coulson stepped up behind her and pulled her into his arms and away from Grant's body. She fought him hard, slipping out of his hold for a split second before he caught her again and practically dragged her back to the bus, kicking and screaming._

"_Grant! No, you have to let me help him! He needs me. He's my S.O., I have to help him, Coulson." She begged, reaching her arm back. "Let me help him! I can help him!" _

"_He's gone Skye. He's gone."_

"_**No!"**_

Skye woke up on the floor in a panic. Her breathes were coming in short spurts and her vision kept swimming in and out of focus. _Grant. _She couldn't do this anymore. She had to see him.

She clumsily pulled herself up and stumbled out of her room like a drunken person, not caring if anyone heard her. The only thing she cared about was seeing him and making sure he was alive.

When she got to his bunk, the door was partially opened and she peeked inside, only to see the bed empty.

"No..."

She pulled the door open and stepped in. The bed was made, his clothes were hung neatly, and his books were all stacked up on the small bedside table. Skye closed her eyes, a wave of dizziness and nausea hitting her at once.

"No, no, no, no, no… it was a nightmare. It was all a nightmare." She mumbled to herself in denial.

She stumbled out of the room and into the living area. He was here. He _had _to be here.

When she didn't find him in the living area or the kitchen, she started to cry, here tears coming down hard and fast.

"Grant!" she yelled hysterically running through the dark plane. "GRANT!"

* * *

Grant wiped the sweat off his forehead after finishing up a late night workout. He'd been restless the whole day and unless he worked all the extra energy off, he'd never be able to fall asleep.

He was about to take a drink of his water when he heard his name being called.

Frowning, he looked over at the clock noticing it was well past two in the morning. God, he hoped they didn't have another mission already.

Slowly making his way towards the stairs, he heard his name being called again, but this time it sounded different. The voice calling out for him sounded scared, panicked- like the person was in pain.

He was up the stairs in less than two seconds flat and was running towards the voice- _her voice_.

* * *

"GRANT!" Skye was losing it. Her breathing was completely out of control at this point, she stumbled, grabbing onto the wall as the room spun around her. She couldn't believe this. She wouldn't accept it.

"GRANT! _Please…"_

* * *

Ward ran into the hallway leading up to the living area and found Skye hyperventilating on the floor, tears streaming down her face at a rapid rate.

"Skye!" he ran to her and kneeled down in front of her, gently grabbing her hand in his. "Skye, I'm here. What's wrong?" he asked, fear etched on his face. He'd never seen Skye like this before.

Skye's head was swaying back and forth, her eyes at half mast as she fought to get some air.

_Shit._ "Skye, you have to breathe." Ward said frantically, maneuvering himself to sit behind Skye. "Come on, you have to breathe." He pulled Skye against his chest and held his hand over her heart, feeling the rapid beating against his palm. If he didn't get her to calm down she was going to pass out.

"Skye, hey… hey, calm down, calm down. Follow me, follow my breathing." He instructed as he took a deep breath. "In and out." He whispered in her ear.

After what seemed like hours, Skye's breathing started to regulate.

"That's it rook, in and out. Easy…" he encouraged softly.

Skye sighed, finally allowing her body to relax against him.

"You ok?" he asked tentatively after a few minutes of silence.

Skye clutched his arm tightly, but refused to speak. She couldn't yet, so she just burrowed herself closer to him, if that were possible.

Grant didn't push, he just wrapped his arms tighter around her, letting her take whatever it is she needed in the moment. He could get answers later.

* * *

Coulson ushered the other team members back into their bunks after he was sure Ward had things under control. They'd all been woken up by Skye's panicked screams a few minutes ago.

He was surprised it had taken their hacker this long to break. He'd been woken up by one of Skye's nightmares the night after they'd successfully extracted Fitz and Ward, but he hadn't approached her about it, instead opting to wait her out. If anyone knew about nightmares, it was him. He was just glad that Skye wasn't as stubborn as he was when it came to seeking out help, whether it was intentional or not.

Coulson glanced back at the pair once more, smiling at the scene, before disappearing to his bunk. Yeah, Ward had it under control.

* * *

"Skye..."

"I couldn't find you." She whispered softly.

Grant leaned down, his chin resting on her slender shoulder and listened.

"I- I thought you-"she took a deep breath and let it out. "I couldn't find you." she sighed sadly.

Although Ward still didn't understand what was going on, the sadness and fear in her voice broke his heart. His rookie seemed broken and he couldn't let that be.

"I'm right here Skye." He said holding her tighter against him. "I'm right here."

Skye let out a broken sob. "It felt so real." She shook her head, a few tears making their way down her cheeks.

"What did?" he asked, curious.

Skye didn't say anything for a few minutes, she just sat back and took comfort from the man sitting behind her. _He's alive. He's here. He didn't leave me. _She told herself over and over again.

"Skye?" he urged her gently.

"Nightmare." She breathed out. "Every time I close my eyes I- you're- "Skye shuddered at just the thought of him being gone. "You died. We were too late." She whispered.

_Damn. _He finally got it. He was such an idiot for not catching this sooner. His rookie was all heart; he'd seen the way she had reacted when Jemma had been infected by the Chitauri virus and when they'd both jumped off the plane. While it hadn't been _this_ bad, she'd woken up screaming a few times that night.

"You weren't too late. I'm fine. Everything's fine." He assured her. "You did good, rookie."

"There was so much blood. I couldn't—it was too much." She said almost as if she hadn't heard the words he'd just said. "I- I kept trying to bring you back but Coulson pulled me away! He wouldn't let me go, and you needed me!" she shouted brokenly. "You needed me."

"It wasn't real Skye." He said doing something completely out of character and laying a gentle kiss to the top of her head. "You had my back; Fitz and I are alive because of you." He reminded her softly.

Skye shook her head, "I went to your bunk. I needed to make sure you were ok, bu- but you weren't there and your bed was made and I just- I got so scared…"

"Shhh, it's alright." He said leaning forward. "Come on, how about we get off this floor." He carefully pushed Skye up into a standing position and quickly got to his feet without letting go of her. "It's late and you need to get some sleep."

Skye turned in his arms, looking up at him wide-eyed and terrified. "I can't go to sleep, Grant! Every time I close my eyes, I see you dying all over again."

"You have to try; you can't avoid sleep forever." He said lacing his fingers with her small ones.

"Bu-"

"But nothing." He cut her off gently. "If you start to dream, I'll be right there to wake you up." He promised, wiping away some tears tracks left behind.

Skye sighed, giving in. She was done; mentally and physically.

"Come on." Ward pulled her through the living area and caught her by surprise when he walked past her bunk and into his. "Trust me?" he asked.

Skye nodded.

"Let's get some sleep then." He said, offering her a rare smile.

Skye got on the bed and scooted over against the wall so Grant would have enough room to lie comfortably. She couldn't believe this was happening.

"You good?" Ward asked, bringing her out of her daze.

Skye smiled shyly. "Yeah, I'm good."

Ward lay down beside her and pulled the covers over them, not at all surprised when Skye curled into his side, her head lying carefully on his chest.

After a few seconds, he allowed himself to relax and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, bringing her closer to him. Normally he would never allow something like this to happen; he was all about following rules and protocol, but there was just something about Skye that made him say to hell with it.

Skye's breath evened out and Ward allowed himself to stare at the young girl in his arms. When he'd seen her in the state she was earlier, he'd had to fight to stay calm. It was his job to take care of her- to protect her, and for a split second, he thought he had failed.

Funny how that was what had essentially led them to this moment right now. He wasn't 100% sure he understood what this all meant, but bottom line was, Skye's nightmares stemmed from her fear of not being able to save him- of _losing_ him. It was the same fear that kept him up at night too, sometimes.

Skye twitched in his arms but quickly relaxed at his gentle touch. "I'm here."

_I'm always going to be here. _

* * *

**A/N 2: **So, hope everyone enjoyed this oneshot. I literally just finished writing it and didn't want to wait before putting it up, otherwise I'd chicken out. Lol.

I love **reviews** as much as Skye loves Ward! ;-)


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